First Ride of the Year!

On a foggy, misty, sometimes rainy Sunday, 7 hardy souls and 5 British Sports Cars headed out on the first annual Siegfried Bettmann Run, from Middletown to the beach at Hammonasset State Park in Madison. In true British weather, we started from Harbor Park in Middletown, under a foggy, misty sky, all assured there would be no rain, and that conditions would improve once we got under way. So much for British Car folks as weather forecasters. We were about as good at forecasting as we are at preventing oil leaks! 

If you are curious about the Honorable Mr. Bettmann, you missed your opportunity to better informed as our route director, Neville, knows all there is to know about Siegfried. Bettman began his career as a manufacturer of bicycles, moving into motorcycles, and eventually to automobiles, notably the well know British brand, Triumph. The story is long and convoluted, but Bettman is remembered as the founder of the pre-war Triumph automobile company. 

When we arrived at the beach, after driving through misty conditions which sometimes deteriorated into outright rain (just keep moving, the rain blows right over you!), we arrived at the beach to find it exactly our starting point, foggy misty and a bit cooler. In fact you could not see the water from the boardwalk, the fog was so thick.

Regardless, it was good to get out and drive the cars after a long strange winter here in Connecticut. For most of the state it was the winter that wasn't. All the cars survived their initial outing, with one small hiccup, (quickly remedied), everyone got a chance to test their windshield wipers, and we met several former LBC owners who stopped by to admire the cars on the rather grey day. All in all, it was a good ride, and a good day. Looking forward to more rides and hopefully better weather.